NO ONE needs to own an automatic weapon, or one that can easily be converted to one. There should be a federal law making it an automatic death penalty if you commit a crime using one and injure or kill someone. 

But I agree there should be some type of sentencing enhancement for using a gun to commit a crime.  Many states already have this.

But they aren't doing it.  Part of that moral failure is because of the money they collect from gun lobbyists.  And part of it is because their constituents won't support it.  I'm just laying out one of the reasons for the lack of constituent support, and explaining why it is unlikely to change.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.  

Yes!  Sadly, I had a childhood friend (just a kid from the neighborhood) who didn't live to graduate high school because he was "thrown clear."

Perhaps one of the most useful things I got in driver's ed class was being shown the Accident Movie--the one where some of your classmates might faint (which will forever cement the lesson in your mind).

Maybe a similar thing for guns would be useful.

We live in a country (assuming you are in the US) that can't have reasonable gun control laws, much less sensible ones.

I think that depends on the mindset of the shooter. If the shooter intends to get away, then they are likely to pick a soft target where they don't think anyone will be shooting back.  Conversely, if the shooter is on suicide mission, then the presence of other guns would not be a deterrent.  I wouldn't advocate for arming teachers or school administrators, but if security guards are armed and trained that might deter someone. 

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Yes, because the security guard(s) might not turn out to be a nutter as well...

I don't know of any polls that show strong support among gun owners for giving up their guns.  390 million guns = many millions of voters that politicians are reluctant to alienate.

"Yes, because the security guard(s) might not turn out to be a nutter as well"

Sure that's possible, but what is the likelihood?  

Unfortunately, there is no fool proof way to prevent 100% of shootings.  I'm working on a case right now in juvenile court, and among the evidence in the state's discovery is a group of photos that show 5-6 local teenaged gang members posing with guns (including assault rifles) and flashing gang signs.  What would you guess are the chances that any of those young men are the registered owners of those firearms?  The fact is, if you went out tomorrow and convinced all law abiding citizens to turn over their legally owned guns, there would still be thousands (if not millions) of guns on the streets of America, and all of them would be in the hands of the people most likely to use them to commit a violent crime.  And that is if you outlawed all guns, which has never been on the table.  Even most backers of gun control have only proposed getting rid of assault rifles, suppressors, high capacity magazines, certain ammunition, etc.  Common hand guns, which are responsible for most gun related suicides and homicides would be left untouched. Likewise, hunting rifles would be left untouched.

Granted, the mass casualty events that make headlines often involve the types of weapons some politicians are willing to ban.  But if you ban those, someone who wants to shoot up a school will just revert to a type of weapon that IS available, and possibly modify it so it performs like an assault rifle.

I'm not arguing against gun control.  Lets ban the types of weapons Biden is proposing to ban.  But lets also recognize that doesn't solve the problem.  It only reduces the number of casualties that occur in a subset of shootings that get a lot of attention, but which make up a small percentage of gun deaths in the U.S.

If you want to maximize the level of protection available to kids at school, you have to go beyond banning assault rifles, and implement security measures on campuses.  We have to look at how school buildings are secured, reduce the number of access points, and increase protections at those access points.  In my opinion that includes considering an armed security guard, or school police officer.  

There are a limited set of circumstances wherein the presence of a firearm can increase safety.